Mead Architecture: Tannins in Mead Making

Honey is generous. It gives you sugar; it gives you aroma; it gives you that ineffable floral complexity that makes mead worth making. What it doesn't give you is structure. No tannins. None. Zip.

The Magic of Oak: Wood in Beer, Cider, and Mead

There's a moment in every barrel-aged batch where something clicks. The harsh, tannic edge softens. The fruit comes forward. A faint vanilla warmth settles into the background like it was always there. You didn't add vanilla. You didn't add anything — you just waited, and the wood did the work.

System Efficiency - Lab-First Principles

In the "Lab-First" brewery, efficiency is not a high score to brag about. It is a diagnostic tool for variable isolation. If you do not know exactly where your sugars are being lost, you cannot reliably replicate a recipe — and replication, not bragging rights, is the entire point.

Introduction to Mead Making

I've seen so much bad advice given to first-time mead makers that I feel like I should offer a primer that is more respectful, open, and encouraging.

The Mead Stability Manifesto: Delle Units and Beyond

In the pursuit of the perfect sweet mead, the "bottle bomb" is the ultimate horror story, except maybe broken glass carboys.

The Lab-First Paradigm: A Framework for Consistent Making

To bridge the gap between a lucky batch and a repeatable masterpiece, we must disentangle three terms that are often used interchangeably but represent distinct physical realities in the brewhouse: Accuracy, Precision, and Consistency.

Malt Conditioning Exploration

This is a minor revision and edit of the article published in 2017.

Bochet & Brewing Sugars - Reduction and Browning

Intentional browning of sugars has a long tradition in brewing and mead-making. Here's the science.

The Lab-First Series: Calibrating the Human Instrument

A guideline to using Sensory and the Lab to troubleshoot or verify common brewing issues.

High-Gravity ABV and the Precision Gap

A data-driven look at why standard ABV formulas fail in high-gravity fermentation and how to implement higher-precision models.

Nice to meet you - Again.

Pull up a chair and crack open a beer. Hi, my name is Matt, and I make craft beverages.

A Change of Venue: Relocating the Brewhouse

After 13 years and a deliberate philosophical shift, I traded corporate demands for a quieter, simpler life. Here is the plan for the new cellar.

🧪 The Homebrewer’s Mead Yeast Master Table

A practical guide to widely available wine, cider, ale, and mead yeasts — optimized for honey must, not malt.

Brewer's Notes

SNA vs TOSNA: A Comparitive Guide to Nutrient Addition Methods in Meadmaking

Discover the key differences between SNA (Staggered Nutrient Additions) and TOSNA (Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient Additions) in meadmaking. This comprehensive guide explores traditional and organic nutrient management methods, helping both novice and experienced meadmakers choose the right appr

competition

On Brewing Competitions, Competitors, Rules and Ethics

We need an honest and direct discussion about brewing competition. Of course, being a homebrewer, I am mainly focused on amateur beer, mead, cider, and wine competitions, which often also have a commercial or professional track. Here in 2024, competition stakes are very high, and success is critical

competition

Improving BJCP Tasting Exam Scores - REDUX

There are a few common Examinee mistakes that are easily addressed and should ensure a fairly easy shot at an 80 score. This is pretty straightforward advice that applies to any BJCP Beer/Cider/Mead Tasting exam.

History

"Guile Brews" by Peter Symons - a review

"Guile Brews" is a historical treatise on the brewing traditions of Cornwall, Ireland, and England. This reasonably narrow region of focus allows a deep dive into brewers logs, local news reporting, and even into legal records (which are plentiful) of specific breweries in specific locations. This i

Rambling

When Perfection is the Enemy of...

With the exit of 2020 and a horrible start of 2021 behind us, I feel the need to address some of the issues hampering my brewing over the past few years and the resulting lack of regular content for Accidentalis.com. Hopefully, this will be cathartic for me and perhaps

judging

Improving your BJCP Tasting Exam Scores

Suggestions for improving your BJCP Tasting Exam scores.

Blichmann

Over Complicated Home Brewing, Going Electric

If there is a theme to my personal homebrewing career, I over complicate everything. It is in my personality to over-engineer, and sometimes my solutions are laughable. That said, after letting my brewing lapse for the past year, I am looking for a new start and a solution to

Bru'n Water Tutorial

Walkthrough - Bru’n Water Subscriber Edition, V 5.3

Overview of the Bru'n Water Spreadsheet Subscriber Edition, V 5.3, a major update released in July 2018.

Product Review

YAHBB Review, "Methods of Modern Homebrewing"

YAHBB: Yet another Homebrewing Book (TM). Yes, they keep coming along and I am one of the addicts that absolutely love books of all kinds. I have a large bookshelf, the kind with the glass doors that protect the books from dust and stuff, and now have two full rows

judging

Judging and the Anatomy of a Score Sheet

It is inevitable. After a major competition, someone posts a horribly written score sheet to social media, and drama ensues; defensive lines are formed, names called. In my years of competing, the quality of score sheet feedback has been random. When reading paired sheets side-by-side, you can often

competition

A Celebration of Mead and Makers

Between March 8 and 11, a herd of mead makers (and a few bee-keepers), converged on the beautiful and scenic Omni Interlocken Hotel in Broomfield, Colorado in celebration of mead. This year, the weather was gorgeous, hanging in the 50's - 60's, with clear views of